Abstract
Tropical forests are a major component of global terrestrial water and carbon cycles, while their productivity is limited by the supply of nutrients from the soil. Transpiration by tropical trees has a large influence on local temperatures and regional rainfall, and much of the tropics would be warmer and drier without forests. Of the total carbon (or energy) fixed in forests by photosynthesis (GPP), more than half is respired by the plants themselves, leaving 30–40% (NPP) which is divided roughly equally between the canopy, wood, and fine roots. Timber makes up around 25% of NPP. Variation in the turnover rate means there is no simple relationship between productivity and biomass. Even old-growth forests appear to be carbon sinks currently, possibly due to fertilization by rising carbon dioxide levels. Forest growth depends on the efficient recycling of nutrients. Tropical forests on old, highly weathered soils may often be phosphorus limited, although nitrogen may be limiting during early secondary succession and in montane forests, and other nutrients may be limiting on particular soils.
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Corlett, R.T. (2016). Tropical Forest Ecosystem Ecology: Water, Energy, Carbon, and Nutrients. In: Pancel, L., Köhl, M. (eds) Tropical Forestry Handbook. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54601-3_53
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54601-3_53
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-54600-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-54601-3
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